Car Wars (video game)
A TI-99/4A clone of the arcade game Head On.
Car Wars, a 1981 game for the TI-99/4A, was programmed by Jim Dramis and published by TI. It borrows its core concept from the 1979 arcade game Head On by Sega/Gremlin. Players control a red car that moves counter-clockwise around a grid, collecting dots while dodging computer-driven cars. The car cannot stop or reverse; the player can only adjust its speed and shift it between lanes at specific points.
The playing field has five concentric lanes, each forming a loop around the board. From the innermost lane outward, these hold 4, 20, 36, 52, and 68 dots. Lane changes are only possible at breaks at the 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 positions. The player can shift up to two lanes at these breaks, while computer cars can only move one lane at a time. The player’s car always moves counter-clockwise; the computer’s cars move clockwise.
At the start, the player’s red car and a single yellow computer car face opposite directions at the bottom (6:00). The player can speed up at any time by pressing a button. A central “pit” holds spare cars, beginning with two. Clearing a level adds a car to the pit (up to a maximum of four) and awards bonus points. If the pit is full when a level is cleared, no new car is added, but bonus points are still given. Crashing removes a car from the pit. The game ends when the player crashes with no spares left. The goal is to collect all 180 dots, which clears the board, adds a car (if possible), and advances to the next level. The maximum score is 99,990.
After the first level, the yellow car starts at the 9:00 position. Clearing the second level returns the yellow car to its original spot, and a blue computer car appears at the left. After the next level, the blue car moves to the second-outermost lane. On the fifth level, a green car is added. These three cars start at different positions depending on the level, and no further computer cars are added.
Before playing, the player can choose options from a menu. Three speed settings—creepin, fast, and flyin—apply to both the player and computer cars. Three speed-up triggers—late, early, and look-out!—determine when computer cars accelerate, happening after clearing 150, 120, or 90 dots, respectively.
In 1982, InfoWorld rated Car Wars “Excellent” in three categories and “Good” for documentation, calling it “a welcome addition to your game library” and praising its graphics and lastin
- Platform
- TI-99/4A
- Developer
- Jim Dramis
- Publisher
- TI
- Release Year
- 1981
- Genre
- Action / Maze
- Based On
- Head On (1979)
Quick Facts
- Title
- Car Wars
- Developer
- Texas Instruments
- Programmer
- Jim Dramis
- Released
- 1981
- Genre
- Maze
- Platform
- TI-99/4A
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Car Wars was programmed by Jim Dramis and published by TI in 1981 for the TI-99/4A home computer. The player controls a red car that always moves counterclockwise around a board divided into five concentric lanes. The lanes contain 4, 20, 36, 52, and 68 dots respectively, for a total of 180 dots per level. The player can change lanes only at the four break points (12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00) and can switch up to two lanes at once, while computer cars can only switch one lane at a time.
The game begins with the player's red car and the computer's yellow car starting back-to-back at the bottom of the screen. The player can speed up at any time using the joystick button. The computer adds additional cars as levels progress: a blue car on the third level and a green car on the fifth level. No new cars are added after the fifth level. The player has a pit that holds up to four spare cars; clearing a level adds a car to the pit (unless full), and crashing removes one.
Reader's Guide
Car Wars is notable as an early home computer adaptation of the arcade game Head On, bringing maze-chase gameplay to the TI-99/4A. Its five-lane circular board with sector-based lane changes offered a distinct tactical element, as the player could switch two lanes at once while computer cars could only switch one. The game's three speed settings (creepin, fast, flyin) and three speed-up thresholds (late, early, look-out!) allowed players to adjust difficulty. Reception was positive: InfoWorld in 1982 rated it Excellent in three categories and Good for documentation, praising its graphics and ongoing challenge. The game's maximum score is 99,990, and it ends when the player crashes with no spare cars in the pit. Car Wars represents an early example of a licensed arcade clone on a home computer, reflecting the era's trend of porting popular arcade titles to emerging home platforms.
Did You Know?
- The player's car always moves counterclockwise, while computer cars move clockwise.
- Lane changes are only possible at the 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 positions.
- The game begins with two cars in the pit, and a maximum of four cars can occupy the pit at any time.
- The computer adds a third car (green) on the fifth level, after which no new cars are added.
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